Jay Weidner: Open Letter About Vincent Bridges

May 2, 2002: This page was formerly occupied by several additional letters from Jay Weidner written at various times after Mr. Weidner became aware of Vincent Bridges “shady background” as a result of our investigative report. Please see the previous page for details of the first letter.

In specific, this page formerly included Mr. Weidner’s letter announcing that he had just incorporated Aethyrea Books LLC, and that anyone who claimed to represent same was “committing fraud.”

This last issue relates to the fact that we discovered through the tax collector’s office as well as the Secretary of State’s office in North Carolina, that Vincent Bridges did not own a legally registered company and therefore, any of his representations as being a publisher were fraudulent and misleading. Jay Weidner later filed the corporation papers on Aethyrea Books LLC, and this was the first time that it had existed as a legal corporation. Anyone may search the public records and discover this fact.

At some later point, Vincent Bridges posted on the internet in numerous places that Ark and Laura had “blackmailed” Jay Weidner into writing the letters that we posted on our site at Jay’s request. Jay then provided a letter declaring that Vincent was an “out and out liar.” The fact is, Jay Weidner contacted us, not the other way around.

In another letter posted on this page, Mr. Weidner described in detail how he had been defrauded by Vincent Bridges, including the fact that “Bridges” claimed to have written a novel for DAW books, articles for Rolling Stone, Cream, and Newsweek magazine. Mr. Weidner felt that “Bridges” had made these claims in order to establish “credentials” and convince him that he was a legitimate writer and that Mr. Weidner could feel confident in working with him as a co-author.

Mr. Weidner then detailed several items relating to the hows and whys of his having been defrauded by Vincent Bridges and the fact that he had actually paid for the initial publishing of their “co-authored” book. He pointed out that the book was, indeed, published with the Aethyrea Books, LLC logo. He pointed out that not only had he not receive repayment for the monies he spent on their research trip, but that he had also never received any monies from the sale of the books that Vincent Bridges was marketing under Aethyrea Books, LLC.

Mr. Weidner then said something extremely strange: He said that he was about to sign a contract in August of 2001 when “something very odd occurred.” This odd thing was, as Mr. Weidner described it, that “In September 2001 it was revealed on the Cassiopaean Web site that Vincent Bridges “had not written a novel for DAW books, had not written any articles for Rolling Stone, Cream or any other noted magazines or newspapers. They also noted that Vincent Bridges had claimed a pseudonym that was not his.”

What is so unusual about this?

Well, the fact that the report on Vincent “Bridges” was not put on the site until Thanksgiving Day – almost the end of November – three months AFTER Mr. Weidner claims to have seen this report. In other words, Mr. Weidner is either confused, or is lying.

Mr. Weidner next wrote that he feared that his work was being “destroyed by Vincent Bridges “dishonesty and misrepresentation.” He then announced that Vincent Bridges and his wife, Darlene, “commited fraud. Not just with me but with several other potential authors.” He announced that he was preparing a lawsuit against Vincent Bridges and Darlene for “misrepresentation.”

Several other letters were published by us, on behalf of and at the request of “Jay Weidner , in our ongoing effort to expose a serious internet predator who has a history of theft, lies and fraud.

Now, coming forward to the present: We have just received a letter from Mr. Weidner telling us that our posting of his letters has essentially served his purpose. He informs us that he has now entered into a legal agreement with Vincent Bridges that he finds “satisfactory to me [Jay Weidner ].” He then states that “Bridges” has paid him back the $3,000.00 he owed, and that he has “apologized for his mistakes.” Next, he tells us that the copyright problem has been straightened out as well as the ownership of Aethyrea Books. [Update: The real details of this “agreement” can be found by reading the exchange HERE]

Mr. Weidner has now informed us that he wishes to just let the whole thing drop because he is satisfied; he got his money back, he got an apology, and “the many things said in those letters is no longer true.”

As a certain member of the research team pointed out regarding such a position: “Since when does truth become ‘no longer true?’ Who decides, and who’s truth was it in the first place? Does something become not true, which once was true?”

What concerns us here, of course, is that there is nothing in Mr. Weidner’s attitude that suggests concern for other people Vincent Bridges has, or will con in the future.

So, the bottom line is: even though Mr. Weidner has a price – and rather low, at that – I don’t think that Mr. “Bridges” will be able to “persuade” any of the other contributors to the documentation of his fraudulent life to retract what they have said.

And so, at his request, we are removing Jay Weidner ‘s letter to the public which he apparently used – as he used us – to gain the upper hand with Vincent Bridges.

Added: We have now published all of Jay Weidner’s correspondence with Ark and Laura on this website, the reasons for which will become clear by the time the reader reaches the end of the correspondence. The reader will also understand why these letters are included in our Study of Psychopathy.

As many of you know, we here at The Perseus Foundation, Inc have recently been learning a lot about Internet Con-artists, cyber-stalkers, and just a whole host of interesting activities of the Self Serving manifestations of the Dark Forces lurking in our Virtual Reality. We aren’t the only ones, of course, though some of the others who have contacted us behind the scenes are unable to come forward because there are investigations underway by Law Enforcement and we do not want to compromise their safety. In at least one case of which we are aware, there is even the threat of potential physical harm until the stalker is taken into custody.

In our own case, the Stalkers are a very small coterie of “teensy weensy petty tyrants” who are merely irritating and aggravating once they are identified.

It is in when they go unidentified that they can create more serious problems, including financial losses, problems with IRS, and other difficulties that responsible and reputable researchers – and even just ordinary citizens – would wish to avoid. It is for that reason, and that reason alone that we decided to publish our report on Vincent Bridges and his proven false bio and credentials – and it is for this reason that we refused to be blackmailed by Mr. “Bridges” into removing this factual report.

In his efforts to stir up as much obscuring dust around his own Fraudulent activities, aided and abetted by his little coterie of followers who do not seem to have the capacity to check facts for themselves, Mr. Vincent “Bridges” recently embarked on the truly pathetic activity of claiming to be a “survivor” of what he calls the “Cassiopaea Cult.” He descended from being the all-wise and all-knowing scholar and expert of things arcane, the high initiate of Enochian magic, the golden boy of the Ophanim who spoke to him and him alone, to being little more than an irritating whiner, producing pages of spittle flecked libel and defamation, all the while pirating our material.

Somehow, he fails to understand the difference between facts and opinion; and in his case, his opinion isn’t worth much since he is a proven liar and falsifier of credentials. (We would like to note here that his claimed “teachers” and former “partners” in therapeutic endeavors are conspicuous by the absence of their endorsement of his “expertise” in those fields.)

Nevertheless, claiming to be a “cult survivor,” Mr. “Bridges” undertook to “trash” our personal lives, characters, years of work, established credentials, and so forth. He tried to file false police reports against us with our local police department, the FDLE, and even called Thomas French at the St. Pete Times to attempt to convince him that we were up to some nefarious purposes. There are other incidents that I am not at liberty to reveal at the moment while they are under investigation.

Almost everyone, at some point in their life, experiences difficult relations with other individuals and with institutions with which they are affiliated. When this happens, friendship are broken, marriages are dissolved, and ties to organizations are severed. Parting of ways can produce a considerable degree of acrimony, but most people soon get over their unhappiness and get on with their lives.

But there are always a few who cope with their loss by engaging in an ongoing battle with individuals or organizations which with they were formerly affiliated. Much of the mischief of the popular meaning of the word “cult” results from the organized efforts of disgruntled former members. Indeed, there is a therapeutic community that has aligned itself with these persons, allegedly for the noble cause of assisting “victims” to get over the psychological damage inflicted upon them while they were affiliated with a “cult.” Some members of this therapeutic community are credentialed, but most of them are merely self proclaimed “cult experts.” All of the so-called “cult experts” speak a language that purports to be scientific, but there is very little empirical evidence to support their claims.

So-called “Counter-cultists” try to create legitimacy for their cause by promoting the idea that they alone exhibit “fidelity to the faith” – their version is the “true one.”

What this amounts to is while trashing someone else, or some other group, they actually exhibit true cultic behavior by proclaiming that they alone possess “true” or “correct” belief, the minions of heresy being everyone else but them. And generally, in the manner of the True Cult, their followers believe every word they say about the “evil others” out there without bothering to do any research or checking on their own, or even any thinking about what might motivate such activity.

Our point has been, and still is, Mr. “Bridges” provably attempted to perpetrate fraud upon us, our egroup, and the public at large. When he was found out and we ejected him from our group, he began to attack us publicly and personally. As a result of these attacks, we investigated him, discovered his fraud, and duly reported it. It’s that simple. All else amounts to little more than an exposed Con Artist conning himself into believing that should the original con job fail, then another con job will set things straight. This is a thought process that has apparently been reinforced by many successful con jobs from childhood on. It also produces the most interesting twist that when the con job does not work, is never because it was their fault, it is always the fault of the individual who did not go along with the con. To a consciousness that is deeply committed to covering up their inner inadequacies, this appears as a 100% successful method of operation and continually reinforces itself until it triggers total self destruction.

Definition: Limited Liability Company

A limited liability company is a business entity created by statute. It has some characteristics of a partnership and some characteristics of a corporation. The owners are called “members.” One or more members are required to organize a limited liability company (LLC) in North Carolina.

Management of the business of the limited liability company is vested in its managers. Without an agreement to the contrary, all of the members are managers. A written operating agreement may designate one or more of the members as managers.

Limited liability companies are fairly new in North Carolina. Legislation creating this form of business was passed in 1993. A limited liability company has the tax advantages of a partnership and the limited liability advantages of a corporation. Although the lack of precedent makes adopting this form of business a little uncertain, experts predict that the limited liability company will soon become the business form of choice for most small businesses.

Forming a limited liability company is more complex than forming a partnership, but less complex than forming and operating a corporation.

Forming a limited liability company is a formal process. To form a limited liability company, you must do the the following:

Acquire all necessary local, state, and federal licenses and permits.
File articles of organization with the Secretary of State.
Pay the filing fees.
File an application with the Secretary of State to reserve a limited liability company name.
The name must contain the words “limited liability company,” or the abbreviation “LLC” or some combination of words and abbreviations to indicate that the business is a limited liability company.
Designate a registered agent and a registered office, and file the designation with the Secretary of State.
Prepare and adopt an operating agreement.
File an annual report with the Secretary of State.

Professional help in preparing the articles of organization and the written operating agreement is necessary to ensure that the limited liability company is structured properly.

If the limited liability company is structured properly, each member reports his or her share of the profit and loss on his or her individual state and federal income tax returns. Properly structured, it is taxed like a partnership or an S corporation. Generally, members of a limited liability company are self-employed. They must pay self-employment tax and estimated taxes. (Note: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has indicated that if the limited liability company has managers, only the managers have to pay self-employment tax. Check with your accountant for more information.) If the limited liability company is not properly structured, it is taxed like a C corporation,.

In a limited liability company, a member’s legal liability is limited to his or her investment in the business. Generally, a member’s personal assets are not at risk, but a member’s personal assets may be at risk if any of the following occurs:

A member personally guarantees a business debt.The form of business is found to be a sham (not properly formed or maintained).
A member becomes personally liable as a result of his or her own acts or conduct.

Published by North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service Distributed in furtherance of the Acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914. Electronic Publication FCSW-002-7 (September 1997 – CAS)

Some links displaying Aethyrea Books as LLC – can serve as an indication that it was represented as LLC on purpose. Many of them have recently been altered. Fortunately internet caches old web sites. Erasing the past is not that easy. However, if Bridges and gang do manage to scrub the web, we have archived copies available to legitimate researchers who might have a need for them.